Dental plan vs Dental money pot...

SarahNeedle1872

Hi, my OH is in the middle of a course of dental treatment that is costing us nearly £400, and I have been toying with the idea of a dental plan... but I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do.
There are 3 of us in our family (1 baby), and a serious lack of NHS dentistry in our area. I am registered at an NHS dentist approx 40 mile away, where I used to live with my ex, but my OH is private.
Would I be better putting the £7 odd a month I'd be giving to an insurance company into a savings pot, or are the dental plans a good idea?
Also, do private surgery accept the NHS maternity exeption cards?

Thanx guys

sarah x

lynzpower

3 months of 7 quid is not even one check up round near me, let alone a clean or anything. Im dreading my crown falling out with no plan- that will be 350 quid easy.

Im going to choose a dental plan- but I need to research it first.

lessonlearned

Depends on the state of your teeth I guess.

Mine are dreadful - my dental plan costs me £20 per month but has saved me thousands.

SarahNeedle1872

Mine are fine. Touch wood I have never had anything more than a scale scrape... but I am only 27. My OH is the one with the problems.

Mrs_Optimist

I have Denplan for myself and my two children which costs £30 per month. OH is NHS. Guess who had an abscess at the weekend resulting in a lot of pain, a lot of waiting around before being seen (try 18 hours) and emergency call out fees - yep Mr O!

I know that the money every month could be spent on something else but I would rather ensure that we were seen immediately if we were in pain (which we would - at no extra cost) than waiting around in agony. Its a dilemma I know, but toothache is no fun, an abscess even worse. The weekend has put it into perspective for me and I would rather have the cover than not.

donteatthat

I might be able to give some advice.....

Private surgeries are only able to accept NHS maternity cards if they have an NHS dental contract, which is unlikely if they have gone private.

Dental plans - you need to be dentally fit before you qualify for Denplan, so IMO it is a bit of a con (am a dentist btw). Once you have paid to be dentally fit, in theory as long as you have had the treatment done well, and look after things you should not face a big bill for some time....

Other plans include Practice Plan where you pay an amount per month which covers exams, x-rays and sometimes scalings and gives you discount (usually 10-20%) off the cost of regular private treatment.

Some comapines give a small amount of dental cover to their employees - BUPA covers some dental things, but obviously is a taxable benefit so costs you at some point.

I have had some patients using HSA for some reimbursement of their dental costs, also other insurance based companies, not sure what the usual costs of these are per month. I suppose what is best for yuo depends on how much dental work you have had in the past, and how well you look after your teeth, diet etc. If you have had lots of problems in the past, then denplan may suit you, but if no problems, no fillings maybe save the cash!

The governemnt is set on removing dentists from the NHS.........whatever they say there will be little if no NHS dental provision in a few years to come I'm afraid.

HTH

redsquirrel80

Hmm, I've been trying to decide about this as I can get health insurance through my work (taken straight out of salary), but can't decide whether it's worth it or I'd be better saving up. Not been to the dentist for ages - partly laziness and partly cost, and I also wear glasses and am due an eye test. I've got a voucher for a free test but I'm putting it off because of the cost of new glasses, thinking about trying one of the cheap websites but I am a bit wary about them.

When I did a rough calculation of the benefits of health plan v what I think I'd actually spend it was barely worth it, the only plus of the plan was that it was a small amount of money going out every month rather than a lump sum. The big negative at the moment was that you have to pay in for six months before you can claim anything.

lynzpower

the thing Is Ive not been to the dentist for *far too long* as I simply havent had the money to pay for it.

Have to have an impacted wisdom tooth removed, dentish was looking to charge me 100 quid, but I went to the dental hospital where they tore it out . Very unpleasant indeed.

For a crown they wouldnt replace it they said.

Im happy to spend X amount of money now im df, on getting my teeth "up to scratch" and then going on a policy.

When this crown goes, its going to be crown, check up x ray & scale & clean and probably they will look at replacing one of my (tow) fillings its not giving me grief ( yet) but I anticipate that alone will cost me somewhere in the region of 500- quid once ive paid the VAT :mad: vat :wall:

that will be more than a full year of policies, so I expect it will be moneysaving.

donteatthat

Watch out for Denplan as well in that if you need treatment on referral for example - oral surgery, or root canal treatment - anything involving a specialist it is not covered so you have to pay in full. I've had a few patients caught out on that one.

xx

Toothsmith

lynzpower wrote: »

but I anticipate that alone will cost me somewhere in the region of 500- quid once ive paid the VAT :mad: vat :wall:

There's no VAT on dental treatment.

Toothsmith

donteatthat wrote: »

Watch out for Denplan as well in that if you need treatment on referral for example - oral surgery, or root canal treatment - anything involving a specialist it is not covered so you have to pay in full. I've had a few patients caught out on that one.

xx

Denplan does have Accident cover (A slip on a doorstep was the biggest claim I ever put in for a patient - she cracked her mouth on her pavement and it cost over £4000 to rebuild her - had she just been pay as you go she'd have been in trouble and it would have been way over the HSA limits too) and out of hours emergency cover, cover whilst away from home.

I'm quite a fan of denplan and the various other monthly schemes.

By paying something monthly, patients are encouraged to come along for check ups and hygienist visits regularly (As they're already paid for) and in doing that, they keep their treatment needs to an absolute minimum.

If patients pay as they go - then they can be tempted to put off routine visits, and that's when problems start to get out of hand.

Like everything, there are pluses and minuses depending on who you are, what your income is, and what your dental needs are.

But if you slip up on your doorstep tomorrow, will you have £4000 (or more) in your pot?

If not - then I would seriously suggest some sort of insurance/monthly plan